And The Horse You Rode In On

I stopped touting three-year-old colt Madeo after he lost a couple of times —and after several people following my advice lost money. I knew he was running on Sunday, but decided I’d be better off throwing away $20 at The Great Escape than throwing it away at OTB. Was I ever wrong.

Running in the $350,000 Del Mar Derby, Madeo came from behind to beat 9-10 favorite Gio Ponti by half a length. He paid $23.60 on a $2 bet. Damn!

And why call a horse Madeo? He’s named for a popular Italian restaurant in West Hollywood —the sort of place where the paparazzi hang around outside to get pictures of celebrities. From one patron’s Yelp review: “My girlfriend took me here for my birthday and we saw Chris Martin, Gwenyth Paltrow, Orlando Bloom at one table and at another table was Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson.” If you go, just remember: it’s not cool to stare.